Hi Persuader,

Binds are a fascinating strategy in persuasion which should be used sparingly, a little ‘persuasion seasoning’ so to speak.

Binds are language patterns and like all language patterns there’s a formula.

For single binds there are two formulas: the first is, ‘if X, Y’ and the second is ‘the more you X, the more you Y.’

As a general rule, the X will be a pace (something that is verifiably true) but it can also include a suggestion or a challenge, and the Y will be a lead, how you want them to think or respond but they’re not currently doing, necessarily. (For more on pacing and leading, stay tuned.)

In other words, you can think of X as the set up, and Y is the punch line.

‘If you develop a deep understanding of the power of binds, you’ll feel compelled to sign up for The Persuasion Factor.’

Okay. . .that’s a pretty obvious example. Very transparent, I know, but you see that the first part of the sentence ‘if you develop a deep understanding of the power of binds’ is a suggestion or challenge, and ‘you’ll feel compelled to sign up for The Persuasion Factor’ is the lead, what I want you to do which you may not currently be doing.

Here’s another example: ‘The more you read what I’m explaining, the more you’ll understand the power of using it.’

Let’s break that down a little. The more you read about something, i.e. the more you read about using binds, the more you will understand how powerful they are to use. Is this true? Possibly. I think it is. But it’s more of a presupposition than it is solid, hard, cold fact.

Binds do not have to in any way make sense or be logical.

For example: ‘The more you hear about this piece of property, the more you will be compelled to buy it.’

Is that logical? Not necessarily. In other words, hearing a lot about something doesn’t compel people to buy. Hearing the right things about something might compel someone to buy, but the suggestion here is that that there is a logical link between hearing about the property and being compelled to buy it. You’re creating that link, you’re creating the truth, and you’re making it so in their minds.

Here’s where we start to get into some really interesting ways of using this. ‘The more you try and object, the more you will find yourself going along with these ideas.’

What are we really doing here? We’re issuing a challenge. The more you try and do something we don’t want you to do, the more you’ll find yourself doing what we want you to do.

Here’s another one: ‘The more you want to feel good about yourself, the more you’ll need to act now on this proposal.’

You might say, ‘Kenrick, you can’t just say that to people.’ Well, yes I can. And I do. And it works great.

My advice: write some samples out before you try using this technique. It is something that needs to be delivered smoothly or you will get an odd reaction.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

In a previous article, I discussed the basics of the VAK (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) representational system and it's value in gaining rapport with an affluent clientel . In this article, I'm going to go more in depth with visual language.

What happens when a person is using visual words (bright, vibrant, shining, 'I see what you're saying')? They're remembering and processing information visually in their mind. If you hear them do it a lot, it may be their dominant sensory system and the one they're most conscious of.

What kind of behaviors might we expect from someone who's using predominantly visual words? People who are visual tend to speak a lot with their hands. They generally talk faster as if they're trying to tell you all of the thousand words that a picture is worth.

Put a picture in your mind and you're trying to describe it to me you may really get off on a roll here with your words, you're trying like crazy to describe it and you're talking, like sometimes people they talk really fast, even talking a little higher. The pictures are flipping through their mind at high speed and they're trying to give you all the information that they're seeing and they can't quite keep up with it even.

Read that last paragraph out loud really fast and you've got an idea of how a visually oriented person may describe this to you.

There are a few other things that you'll notice. They may often breathe higher in their chest. You may also notice that they need distance between you as they speak. They don't like to stand real close to people, not too close, because what happens is you will be in their picture if you stand too close.

Try this: if you think someone is very visually oriented when you're talking to them, just move so you're standing really close to them and see if they don't get uncomfortable.

You can also do some other interesting things. If you notice them looking off into space at particular areas while they talk, you could point to that space and slide it around. In other words, point to the space and then move it to some other space and watch them get confused.

Just play around a little bit with it. You're not going to hurt anybody doing that. It's not like you're going to cause trauma, or anything, contrary to what others might lead you to believe. But it will start to help you understand what happens when someone is highly visually oriented.

These kinds of people can be very powerfully persuaded. When you find them, you'll learn to love what you can do with them.

When gaining rapport it is valuable to understand the representational system that the prospect is using, but as we will discover in future articles, there's a shortcut. For now, just see if you can identify five visually oriented people this week and notice how they speak and gesticulate.

This is only the tiniest fraction of powerful persuasion basics. To get really deep, contact Kim and ask her to tell you all about the Persuasion Factor.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

"The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." - Henry Miller

Hi Persuader,

I love language. I get really excited about words, patterns, meanings and the indescribably magnificent world of linguistics.

For the past 30 years I've been studying persuasion, but really if I think about it I've been studying the language of persuasion. Physical mirroring and matching aside, persuasion is a world of words and it just thrills me to bring this information to you.

When you hear and understand the Awareness Pattern and how to use it in your persuasion, you will kick yourself and think why you didn't use it sooner. This pattern is an absolutely essential tool in your persuasion arsenal.

Aldous Huxley said:

"Every individual is at one the beneficiary and the victim of the linguistic tradition into which he has been born - the beneficiary inasmuch as language gives access to the accumulated records of other people's experience, the victim in so far as it confirms him in the belief that reduced awareness is the only awareness and as it bedevils his sense of reality, so that he is all too apt to take his concepts for data, his words for actual things."

This is an amazing description of how language can either expand our universes or reduce our awareness. And by studying persuasion, we can maximize our benefit of our linguistic traditions.

Language patterns are one of my favorite aspects of linguistics. And the Awareness Pattern is one of the most powerful patterns you'll ever learn. It qualifies as one of my absolute all time favorites.

The three words that I tend to like a lot in this category are: aware, realize, experience.

By simply saying one of these words you're making the person start the mental process that you mention.

In other words, you're enticing them to become AWARE, to REALIZE, or to EXPERIENCE.

These words are very important in your persuasion arsenal because everything that follows them is presupposed to be true. These words also force the issue of not "will you do," but instead, "are you aware of," which is far more powerful in persuasion.

As you gain skill in being able to use these words powerfully, you might think that someone may respond to the question, "Are you aware of?" by saying "No". I assure you, when done properly, this does not happen. And if it ever did, all you need to say is, "Not yet, huh?"

Here's an example: The more you begin to construct your mind in the ways you'll be using these patterns, the more you'll begin realizing the explosively profitable techniques you are learning. Are you starting to experience the growing awareness of what being involved in MAXpersuasion brings you as I tell you about it and as you go through it?

Is the awareness of the power of these patterns starting to sink in? Let's go through this carefully.

I'm not asking you if these patterns have power; that would not be a presupposition. Do you think these patterns have power? That's not helpful.

I'm asking, "Are you aware of the power?"

If you're not aware, it presupposes you need to be aware. And if you are aware, you'll state that you are in fact aware. If you say, "Yes, I am aware," then you know the power of the patterns and you agree they're starting to sink in. And if you're not aware, then by hearing the question asked, you begin to become aware.

If you're getting excited about this information, you're ready to learn more about how language can expand your universe. There are several of these patterns that will work for you to persuade the affluent. All you have to do is to take action, learn them, and implement them.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland

Hi Persuader,

As you may have noticed, in the recent posts ("Linguistical Pitfalls") I told you there were EIGHT dangerous words that you should avoid in your persuasion situations. Then I proceeded to give you just four of those eight. (By the way, there really are eight, and I'll be writing about the other four in the very near future.)

Now, I did this to demonstrate a very clever point with you that you'll have great success with in your persuasion...

The point is to teach you a strategy called "Temporal Pattern Loops".

We're going to create loops in the mind of the listener. This is a favorite pattern of mine (as you now know, since I just used it on you Wednesday morning).

There are three really powerful things you need to know in order to understand how to use loops:

Number one, people need to have closure.

They can't stand to have balls up in the air. They need to have the balls land. They need closure, a yes or a no.

An example in sales of the prospect keeping an open loop with the sales person is that dreaded phrase, "I'll need to think it over."

You want to either end it or don't end it. Either say yes, or say no, but don't tell me you want to think about it.

Number two, when they don't get closure, their response potential is increased.

That's all you'll ever need to know about loops.

But wait a minute... didn't I say there were three things?

I did. I told you that there are three powerful things you need to know in order to understand loops and I only gave you two. Isn't that frustrating?

People need closure. And when they don't get it, their response potential is increased.

What's the third thing? Let me ask you, how much do you want to know what number three is? Do you really want to know?

Sorry. There is no number three. There are only two things you need to know about loops.

Why would I do that? Same reason I only gave you four of the eight most dangerous words in persuasion. Because by leaving a loop open, by purposefully leaving the third blank, I increased your response potential and piqued your interest.

Don't close all the loops. In fact, leave most of them open. Use loops all the time.

Think about something you know really well. Just as an example, let's say you're pretty sure you know all there is to know about the Civil War. Say you're a real history buff and there's nothing you don't know about that period of time in that section of the world.

What if someone was teaching a class about the Civil War and there was some new information? Well, how could there be? You know everything. All your loops regarding the Civil War are closed.

You can use loops when you want to increase response potential because if you leave a loop open, it makes people want to sit forward and try to figure out what it was that you didn't tell them.

In other words, they're missing something. Like when I wrote, "There are three powerful things you need to know to do these loop patterns" and I told you two of the three. For many of you, you just had to know, "Well, what's the third one?"

Now, if you were just skimming and weren't paying attention, it may not have had that effect on your conscious mind, but it did have it on your other-than-conscious mind.

When you open loops and don't close them, people begin to believe that they don't know all there is to know about the subject. And if people know all there is to know, they go away and don't come back. After all, there's no apparent reason for them to stay.

Until Next Time,

Kenrick E. Cleveland